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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
APRIL
2017
10
MARKETPLACE
With a total of 31 years’ of experience, Burger’s
list of achievements includes his involvement in
numerous projects throughout southern Africa
designing a variety of reinforced and pre-stressed
concrete bridges and temporary works for
incrementally-launched bridges.
A SANRAL registered senior bridge inspector,
his expertise is highly sought-after for other
specialised complex technical undertakings, such as
participating in forensic structural investigations.
Burger is manager of the structural design
division of JG Afrika’s Pietermaritzburg office in
KwaZulu-Natal, and stepped into his new role on
1 March 2017.
Members of JG Afrika’s board, including Paul
Olivier, managing director, congratulate Burger on his
recent accomplishment at the firm, and know that
his technical expertise and experience will enhance
JG Afrika’s existing standing as a leading African
engineering solutions provider.
The annual Corobrik Architectural Student of the Year Award is the country’s
premier event to highlight the creative and technical talent of the cream of
South Africa’s architectural students and to drive the advancement of design
excellence nationally.
Participating universities include: University of the Free State, University of
Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University,
Tshwane University of Technology, University of
Johannesburg, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University
of Pretoria and University of Witwatersrand.
Participants thesis models are available to view at
The Hilton Hotel between 9:30 and midday on 10 May
2016. Tertiary institutions are encouraged to send
architectural and design students to view the models
and listen to a student lecture that will be delivered by
the eminent award winning architect Andrew Makin.
The main contributors to the negative GDP growth rate were the
mining and quarrying industry and the manufacturing industry.
Mining and quarrying decreased by 11,5% in the fourth quarter. This
was largely the result of lower production in coal, gold and ‘other’
metal ores (including platinum).
Manufacturing decreased by 3,1% largely as a result of
lower production in the manufacturing of food and beverages,
manufacturing of petroleum, chemical products, rubber and
plastic products and manufacturing of motor vehicles, parts and
accessories and other transport equipment.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing industry has been in decline
for eight consecutive quarters.
The largest positive contributors were the trade, catering and
accommodation industry and finance, real estate and business
services, which increased by 2,1% and 1,6% respectively, and each
contributed 0,3 of a percentage point to GDP growth.
Expenditure on GDP2
Expenditure on real gross domestic product fell by 0,1% in the fourth
quarter of 2016.
Household final consumption expenditure increased by 2,2% in
the fourth quarter, contributing 1,3 percentage points to total growth.
0,3% contraction in GDP
South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth
rate was -0,3% in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The largest contributors to the growth rate of 2,2% were food and
non-alcoholic beverages (up 2,4%), clothing and footwear (up 10,4%),
and the ‘other’ category (up 5,9%). Final consumption expenditure by
general government increased by 0,3%.
Gross fixed capital formation increased by 1,7%. The largest
contributor to the growth was construction works, which increased
by 3,6% and contributed 1,2 percentage points to growth in GFCF.
There was a R16-billion drawdown of inventories in the fourth
quarter (following an R11-billion build-up in the third quarter), which
contributed -3,5 percentage points to total growth.
Net exports contributed positively to growth in expenditure on
GDP. Exports increased by 12,5%, mainly because of higher exports
of precious metals and mineral products. Imports increased by 6,1%,
mainly due to higher imports of machinery and equipment.
New technical director
30
th
architectural student of
the year competition
Eight finalists from Universities around South Africa have
already won the regional competitions and will meet at
the Hilton Hotel in Johannesburg between 8 and 10 May
2017 for the 30
th
Corobrik Architectural Student of the Year
Awards evening.
Vedhant Maharaj is the winner of the 2015 Architectural
Student of the Year Awards. His winning architectural
thesis is entitled ‘Yantra, Infrastructures of the Sacred
and Profane’ and is a water purification infrastructure for
the hazardously polluted River Ganges in India.
Kobus Burger has
been appointed as a
technical director of
JG Afrika, a leading
multi-disciplinary
engineering and
environmental
consultancy.